Why the chic Dolomites are the place to be this summer
Europe’s bon viveurs are increasingly trading the Med for the mountains — and the chic Dolomites in particular, preferring the cooler climes, wholesome lifestyle and the phenomenal spas. Swish spa-and-ski Dolomite hotels, such as Relais & Chateaux Hotel Capella and Gardena Grödnerhof Hotel and Spa, are attributing this boost in summer occupancy. But there’s a coterie who’ve been quietly shunning the hot coastal summers for a while — they’ve fallen head over heels for the cinematic Pale Mountain summer.
From hotels with steaming outdoor pools tipping over pastoral valleys to sun-trap restaurant terraces built for drawn-out lunches, here’s how to summer in the Dolomites (and ditch the scorching, overpriced Med).
Stay
Some of the Dolomites’ legendary hotels are so pampering you’d be forgiven for dropping anchor for an entire week. COMO Alpina Dolomites (comohotels.com) is one of them, and following an extensive reboot, this architecturally-modern marvel on the Alpe di Siusi is as striking as ever. Unlike St Moritz, discreet wealth comes here to recharge in the COMO Shambhala Retreat spa, with its Finnish sauna, and recline on its terraces (following Sound of Music-style hikes) with crisp glasses of white. Here, Alpine twee is shunned for elemental, contemporary design, much like Forestis (forestis.it), whose angular, Scandinavian good looks pull in the surrounding pine-and-peak scenery to dramatic effect. Or My Arbor (my-arbor.com), a plush adults-only “treehouse” hotel with a knockout spa.
Rosa Alpina (aman.com) occupies the middle ground in terms of aesthetics — a fresh spin on wooden Alpine classicism with Aman’s slick signature spa. Here, summers bolt out on horseback, paraglide through the crisp air and cool off in pools with pine-forest views. It will reopen in 2025.
The turreted Tyrolean Adler Spa Resort Dolomiti (adler-resorts.com) is a favourite with families for its superlative kids’ club (and for parents, its outdoor pools and lakeside saunas), while Relais & Châteaux’s Gardena Grödnerhof Hotel & Spa (relaischateaux.com) is another plush, turreted launchpad for Alpe di Siusi and Resciesa hiking trails — all rounded off with Ayurvedic treatments in the Italian family-owned hotel’s wood panelled spa.
For wellness with a side of art, Relais & Chateaux’s Hotel Cappella (relaischateaux.com) in the pretty village of Colfosco lines its traditional wooden walls with various artworks, while families coming here for years zigzag between the indoor and outdoor pool. Those after a slice of the Heidi life with the utmost privacy should book a Leo Trippi (leotrippi.com) chalet, such as the beautifully-restored farmhouse Casa Tra Cime (from €6,600 for eight adults and two children).
Eat
Dolomiti insider Oliver Corkhill of Viadi Group suggests gourmands hone in on Alta Badia — “a culinary hotspot in the Dolomites” — where tastebud-shifting food and wine spans Michelin-starred joints to traditional mountain huts rounding off hikes. For a lunch spot, Corkhill suggests booking lunch at three Michelin star Atelier Moessmer, where chef Norbert Niederkofler “stays true to his cook the mountain conviction” with seasonal menus featuring the likes of creamy beetroot gnocchi with black beer bread crumb, daikon cream and horseradish. For views, he suggests hopping on the Pralongiá chairlift (open in summer months) where Rifugio Punta Trieste punters wash classic carbonara plates and succulent ribs down with crisp South Tyrolean wines. Those staying in Cortina would be wise to shimmy into El Camineto’s sheepskin chairs for casunziei and a louche terrace scene, with the eye-wateringly pretty country backdrop.
For a family-run joint, agriturismo Maso Runch Farm is superb — seemingly sprung from a Brothers Grimm tale with its cosy blonde-wood dining room and Sound of Music views framed by gingham curtains. At only €46, their six-course tasting menu includes divine home-made spinach and ricotta ravioli drenched in farm butter and pork shank with crisp polenta. Hikers are well rewarded following the path towards the Firenze hut from the foot of the Col Raiser lift in Selva di Val Gardena with the Baita Sangon Hütte serving up hearty classics from its suntrap terrace.
Shop
Those in the know head to Cortina d’Ampezzo for the shopping, whether it’s Fendi and Dior, updating their outdoorsy gear at the Cooperativa department store or stocking up on cured meats, Alpine berry jams and honey at Moe Fausto. Serious shoppers make a beeline for San Candido, where a cluster of homeware and interior boutiques hug the river — think murano glass, antique furniture and velvet cushions — and the legendary Haunold hat shop, owned by the Zacher family since 1560, with its beautifully-crafted felt hats and slippers. In Corvara, Val Badia, it’s easy to find Tyrolean and Ladin Alpine momentos at Boutique Monika, along with beautifully-crafted clothes from European designers, though Romantik Corvara is where to go for presents or homeware trinkets. For beautiful textiles, peruse Tessitura Nagler’s various prints and fabrics in La Val, and for a vast array of Ladin goodies and jams, hot foot it to Delizius in San Cassiano (you’re bound to stock up on a few bottles of South Tyrolean wine too). It’s worth marvelling at the artisanal wood carvings and cuckoo clocks in Erse Shop, a charming spot in the time-warp town of Selva, Val Gardena, and visiting the pretty town of Ortisei on market day (every Friday from 8am-1am in Via Stazione).
Do
Activities very much depend on the particular town or area you find yourself in, though most centre on the great outdoors, or the simple pleasure of good wine on a sunny terrace. Cortina d’Ampezzo is all about the hikes and e-bike tours through the fairytale playground of pine-woods, valleys, lakes and wildflower meadows. Leo Trippi recommend rounding this off with a tasting menu at Alajmo Cortina, or for something truly special, they can organise a 15-minute panoramic flight, landing at a Rifugio in the Cinque Torri area where a local sommelier will take punters through some of the region’s best wines followed by lunch.
As hikes go, the 10km Tre Cime di Lavaredo loop, starting at Rifugio Auronzo, is gut-wrenchingly scenic, with a Second World War tunnel system to explore en route, as is the trail to the gin-clear Lago di Sorapis. And for minimum effort with maximum reward, the Cortina D’Ampezzo’s Tofana di Mezzo hike is a mercifully short trail with some of the most staggering views across the jagged peaks and emerald-green valleys.
Cyclists can take a labyrinth of paths through dense pine forests and along glassy lake shores, depending on their starting point, and stables are dotted throughout the Dolomites, such as Farm Unterlanzin, for picturesque horse rides through the wildflower meadows. Medieval towns abound in the Dolomites, such as postcard-pretty Ortisei and Cortina d’Ampezzo. They bear the legacy of Austro-Hungarian rule, some more flamboyantly Nutcracker in style than others, such as Merano. This bonbon-shaded town sits smugly in its Mediterranean microclimate, where giant palms tickle blush pink walls and guests sun themselves in gardens, fountains trickling, and the distant peaks scraping the clouds.
It’s also worth checking if any festivals are taking place, such as Val Gardena’s Folklore Festival in Ortisei (August 4), where dancing and processions peer into the Dolomites’ ancient soul.
